Objective To develop an ex vivo equine corneal organ culture model. Specifically, to assess the equine cornea's extracellular matrix and cellularity after 7 days using two different culture techniques: either (a) immersion system or (b) air/liquid interface system, to determine the best ex vivo equine corneal model. Methods Fourteen healthy equine corneas with 2 mm of perilimbal sclera were freshly harvested from 7 horses undergoing humane euthanasia. One corneal-scleral ring (CSR) from each horse was randomly placed in the (a) immersion condition organ culture system (IC), with the contralateral SCR being placed in the (b) air/liquid interface organ culture system (ALC) for 7 days. All corneas were evaluated using serial daily gross photography, histology, qPCR and TUNEL assay. Results CSRs placed in the IC (a) had complete loss of corneal transparency on gross photography by 7 days, showed a significant level of corneal stromal disorganization, significantly increased αSMA levels on qPCR, and apoptosis on TUNEL assay compared to controls. The ALC (b), had weak stromal disorganization on histopathologic examination and was not significantly different from normal equine corneal controls on all other evaluated parameters. Conclusions The air-liquid interface organ culture system maintains the equine cornea's extracellular matrix and preserves corneal transparency, while the immersion condition results in near complete degradation of normal equine corneal architecture after 7 days in culture. The air-liquid organ culture is a viable option to maintain a healthy equine cornea in an ex-vivo setting for wound healing studies.
Using gene transfer technology involving profibrotic Smad silencing, antifibrotic Smad overexpression or its combination is a novel strategy to control TGF-β1-mediated fibrosis in equine fibroblasts. Combination gene therapy was not better than single gene therapy in this study.
An eleven-year-old, female spayed Boxer dog was diagnosed with a uveal schwannoma (formerly known as the spindle cell tumor of the blue-eyed dog or SCTBED) despite having a uniformly brown iris. The patient presented to emergency for ocular discomfort, and the right globe was subsequently enucleated due to glaucoma and submitted for histopathology. Upon histopathologic evaluation, a uveal schwannoma was diagnosed and confirmed with immunohistochemical staining. Complete metastatic evaluation 1 and 6 months after initial presentation did not reveal evidence of metastasis, and the dog remains systemically healthy. This case represents a unique variant of uveal schwannoma and is relevant because although the vast majority of these tumors occur in blue-eyed dogs, clinicians should not completely rule out this tumor as a differential based on the iris color.
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